Start oil and gas investment in Norway before its to late

How to get more profit in oil and gas industry?Do more investment to oil and gas company. Before that, do market research where to find the best place for investing our money. Europe area is the most area people looking for oil and gas investment other then becouse this area still have good prospect in world economic crisis.
Investment in Norway's oil and gas sector is set to continue in 2010 after an expected 17 percent surge this year to a record 145.2 billion crowns ($22.88 billion), Statistics Norway said on Thursday.
In its quarterly forecast based on announcement already made by companies active offshore Norway, the statistics agency raised its 2009 investment view by 5.7 percent from March.
It forecast preliminary 2010 oil and gas investment at 136.1 billion crowns. This -- the first forecast for 2010 -- is set to rise as firms announce new plans, and is well above the 116.9 billion the agency gave for 2009 at the same time last year. "The sharp increase is mainly due to the fact that the operators' first-time reports for 2010 are significantly more complete than earlier first-time reports," Statistics Norway said in a statement.
Norway is the world's sixth largest oil exporter and Western Europe's biggest natural gas exporter but a sharp fall in oil prices in late 2008 and in the first months of this year cast doubt over whether its investment boom would continue in 2010.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has said most of Norway's producing fields are robust at an oil price of $50-$70 per barrel and a dip below that level a few months ago forced a number of oil and gas producers to postpone projects.
"The figures were pretty high," said Steinar Juel, chief economist at Nordea in Oslo. "It gives the impression that there could be growth (in investment spending) next year."
Norway needs to maintain high investment spending to limit the drop in output from its ageing North Sea oilfields.
According to official forecasts, Norway's oil output is expected to dip to about 2 million barrels per day in 2009, while sales of natural gas this year are expected to rise to a record 102 billion cubic metres.
ECONOMIC RECOVERY NEARER
The forecasts also have a macroeconomic impact, suggesting stronger investments in 2010 than expected by the central bank and potentially a quicker exit from recession by Norway.
The oil and gas sector accounts for about a quarter of Norway's total investments and gross domestic product.
Norges Bank, which has slashed interest rates to record lows to cushion Norway's economic slowdown, had forecast a sharp fall in oil and gas investment in 2010.
"Norges Bank have envisaged a marked drop next year. If that doesn't happen there will be increased demand, more speed in the economy and less need for low interest rates," said Kyrre Aamdal, senior economist at DnB NOR Markets.
Knut Anton Mork, chief economist at Handelsbanken in Oslo, said the forecasts for both 2009 and 2010 were "surprisingly strong" and helped shine light on one of the biggest uncertainties facing Norway's economy.
"I believe we will get renewed economic growth already in the third quarter of 2009," Mork said. (Additional reporting by Richard Solem, Ole Petter Skonnord and Joergen Frich; editing by James Jukwey)



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US Senate panel give green light to do more offshore drilling

A U.S. Senate panel approves expansion of offshore oil and natural gas drilling in an attempt to open more of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to energy development.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday voted 13-10 in favor of an amendment to expand drilling, including the coast of Florida, as part of its debate on the pending energy legislation. The legislation could get a vote in committee on June 11.

Former President George W. Bush removed a presidential moratorium on offshore drilling last year, and Congress let a ban expire after oil prices reached a record $147.27 a barrel. The amendment, proposed today by Senator Byron Dorgan, alters a remaining ban on drilling from 2006 legislation that protected portions of the gulf.

“That portion of the eastern gulf that is not open, with a buffer zone of 45 miles, should be available for drilling for oil and natural gas,” said Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat. The drilling area includes the Destin Dome, an area off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, which may hold 2.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to the energy department.

The drilling provision is one of several amendments that have been considered during the weeks the committee has spent debating energy legislation that would, among other things, require a portion of electricity to come from renewable resources and set new energy efficiency standards.

Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat, said the goal is for the panel to finish work on the energy legislation on June 11. “We have no floor date committed,” Bingaman told reporters after the session today.

The committee rejected a proposal by Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat, to share royalty revenues from offshore drilling with coastal states. It also rejected a bid by Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, to open a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.

Supporters of state-revenue sharing promised to bring the matter up again when the legislation reaches the Senate floor.

“Continued discussion is necessary to ensure that coastal states should be given a portion of the revenues associated with the development of oil and gas off their shores,” Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute, said in a statement.

Gerard, whose group represents the oil industry, said the Dorgan amendment will “help the American people by creating new jobs, adding new energy resources and providing new revenues to federal, state and local governments.”

“There is no way they are going to drill 45 miles off of Florida’s coast,” Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, said in an interview after today’s vote. Nelson, who isn’t a member of the energy committee, appeared in the room just before the vote.

Nelson joined with Republican Sen. Mel Martinez and the rest of the Florida congressional delegation in support of the 2006 measure that opened 8.3 million acres to drilling because it included a buffer of 125 miles (201 kilometers) to 235 miles off the coast of the state that would last until 2022.

Dorgan said in an interview he hasn’t discussed the amendment with Florida’s two senators. “These ideas have been kicking around for a while,” said Dorgan. The provision to prevent drilling within 45 miles of shore was a response to Florida’s concerns, he said.

A 45-mile buffer would interfere with naval training in the area and threaten the beaches, Nelson said.

“They have got to get over my objections, that’s not going to be easy,” Nelson said. “If I have to do a filibuster, I will do it.” Bloomberg

Asked whether the drilling provision could scuttle the energy legislation, Bingaman responded, “a lot of things could scuttle this.” (Bloomberg)

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